AACL BI OFLUX

Aqu a cu lt u r e , Aqu a r iu m , Con se r va t ion & Le gisla t ion

I n t e r n a t ion a l Jou r n a l of t h e Bioflu x Socie t y

Rot ife r ( Bra chion u s plica t ilis) cu lt ur e in ba t ch

syst e m w it h su spe n sion of a lga e
( N a n n och loropsis ocu la t a ) a n d ba k e r y ye a st
( Sa cch a r om yce s ce re visia e )
Javad Sahandi, and Hoj at ollah Jafaryan

Depart m ent of Fishery, Gonbad Universit y, Facult y of Nat ural Resources, Gonbad, I ran.
Corresponding aut hor: J. Sahandi, sahandij avad@gm ail.com

Abst r a ct . The r ot ifer Br achionus plicat ilis is com m only cult ur ed and used in hat cher ies as t he fir st
feed of m ar ine and fr esh wat er fish lar vae. Sever al cult ivat ion t echniques have been developed and
applied in hat cher ies by aquacult ur e r esear cher s. I n t his st udy, we evaluat ed t he nut r it ional effect on
Br achionus plicat ilis populat ion gr owt h; r ot ifer was cult ur ed on suspension of algae ( Nannochlor opsis
oculat a) and yeast ( Sacchar om yces cer evisiae) in bat ch cult ur e syst em . Rot ifer s t hat fed wit h yeast
( T2) developed well at t he beginning but wit h incr easing of r ot ifer s biom ass envir onm ent was pollut ed
and aft er per iod of t im e m ass m or t alit y obser ved. Over all, in t his case ( T2) t he biom ass pr oduct ion
was low. The r ot ifer s t hat fed wit h algae ( T1) had sam e populat ion incr easing and t her e was no
significant differ ence bet ween use of yeast and algae. The best gr owt h r at e was r elat ed t o cont r ol
t r eat m ent ( C) t hat feed wit h blend of algae and baker y yeast . The lowest gr owt h r at e was obser ved in
T1 and T2 t r eat m ent s t hat fed j ust wit h algae and baker y yeast separ at ely.
Ke y w or ds: r ot ifer , Br achionus plicat ilis, bat ch cult ur e, baker y yeast , algae.

I n t r odu ct ion . Rot ifers are am ong t he m ost w idely used aquacult ure live food organism s
for m arine larvae prim arily because t hey are very convenient t o use and are readily
available ( Dhert et al 2001) . The cult ivat ion of larvae of m any species of m arine fish and
crust aceans is precariously dependent upon t he availabilit y of live food, w het her veget al
or anim al ( Jaspe et al 2011ab) . Rot ifers have generally served as an excellent source of
food for larvae of m any species of fish and crust aceans. They are generally obt ained
t hrough cult ivat ion in bat ch cult ure syst em . High reproduct ion abilit y and easy cult ivat ion
in experim ent al environm ent s have m ade rot ifers a frequent ly used live food. For t heir
cult ivat ion, expert s advised som e specific m et hods ( see det ails in Dhert et al 2001) .
Am ong t hem , t here is one m et hod t hat reduces t he cost s of product ion based on use of
all nut rit ional m at erial of cult ivat ion environm ent . Rot ifers as t he best available live food
w ildly use as shellfish food; t hey also can play role of vect or in bioencapsulat ion of m any
drugs, chem icals, or nut rit ious com ponent s. For im provem ent of nut rit ional feat ures
using live food especially rot ifer is an essent ial m at t er. One of t he st rat egies for
im provem ent of nut rit ional efficiency is feeding rot ifer w it h m icro algae such as
Chaet ocerus spp., Chlorella spp. and Nannochloropsis spp. and bakery yeast
( Saccharom yces cerevisiae) . Each species of algae or yeast offers som e specific
advant ages if used ( Dhert et al 2001; Dragos et al 2010; Wat kins et al 2011) ; for
exam ple, Nannochloropsis is rich w it h prot ein, w hile yeast can be cult ured in various
environm ent s ( Gaspar et al 2010; Gat esoupe et al 2005) . I ndust rial yeast s usually use in
aquacult ure as probiot ic or as nut rit ional m at t ers in aquat ic anim als nut rit ion ( St ones &
Mills 2004) . Live feeds such as rot ifers ( Brachionus spp.) are current ly indispensable for
t he m ass product ion of m arine larvae ( Oliva- Teles & Gonçalves 2001) . The rot ifer B.
plicat ilis has becom e a valuable and, in m any cases indispensable, food organism for first
feeding of a large variet y of cult ured m arine finfish and crust acean larvae ( Luzbens et al
1987; 2001) . How ever, suppressed grow t h or unforeseen deat h of rot ifers is frequent ly

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observed in m ass cult ure ( Hirat a 1974, 1977) and t herefore finding new and bet t er
m et hods of rot ifer cult ure w ould be useful.
I n t his st udy w e evaluat ed grow t h rat e and survival rat e of Brachionus plicat ilis
t hat feed w it h m icro algae ( Nannochloropsis oculat a) and bakery yeast ( S. cerevisiae)
and blend of t his t w o feeds.

M a t e r ia l a n d M e t h ods. I n t his st udy, m icro algae ( N. oculat a) w ere purchased from

Art em ia Research Cent er of Urem ia Universit y ( I ran) . For cult ivat ion of m icro algae w e
prepared cult ivat ion t anks by m ixing w at er ( 30 ppt salinit y) w it h Urea ( 5g/ L) and
Phosphat e ( 10 m L/ L) ( Gom ishan Shrim p Cult ure Cent er, Golest an - I ran) . Aft er
preparat ion of cult ivat ion t anks m icro algae st ock w ere int roduced int o t he t anks.
Cult ivat ion t anks w ere cont aining w at er w it h salinit y of 28 ppt , at 28- 30° C w it h good
aerat ion. We cult ured m icro algae up t o densit y of 1× 10 4 cell/ m L. N. oculat a is a species
of m arine algae t hat in com m ercial hat cheries use as a basic food of prey sam e as rot ifer
( B. plicat ilis) .
Table 1
Micro algae and t heir cultivation feat ures
in laborat ory of Gonbad Universit y

Algae Salinit y ( ppt ) pH Tem perat ure ( ° C) Light int ensit y ( Lux)

N. oculat a 28 7-9 28- 30 2500

Rot ifers w ere placed int o Erlenm eyer glasses w it h 500 m L capacit y. Wat er of cult ivat ion
w as 15 ppt salinit y. Aft er rot ifer cult ivat ion and achieving t he norm al populat ion densit y
of rot ifers, 10 count s of rot ifers w ere int roduced int o a one lit er Erlenm eyer glass w it h
salinit y of 15 ppt , at 28° C w it h aerat ion and illum inat ion w it h 2500 lux int ensit y. The
cult ivat ion param et ers w ere m easured every day and t he densit y w as count ed. Algae
w ere cult ured in st andard syst em and every day 10 m L of t hem w ere used as food for
each Erlenm eyer glass. This am ount of food w as equal t o 30% of rot ifer body w eight .
Densit y of algae used w as 1× 10 4 cell/ m L ( as calculat ed in laborat ory of Gonbad
Universit y) . For yeast suspension product ion w e added 4 g of yeast t o 500 m L w at er, and
10 m L per day from yeast suspension w ere added t o each Erlenm eyer glass ( according t o
Triant aphllidis et al 1998) .

Re su lt s a n d D iscu ssion . Result s of grow t h rat e of B. plicat ilis w ere prepared and
present ed in Figure 1. Aft er inform at ion analyzing, different survival rat es and grow t h
rat es w ere observed in different t reat m ent s t hat fed w it h different feeds. Analyze of dat a
w it h SPSS program version 9 ( Duncan) show ed t hat suspension of algae and yeast had
posit ive effect on grow t h of populat ion ( C) and rot ifers t hat fed w it h suspension of algae
and yeast ( blend) had significant ly different result s com pared w it h ot her t reat m ent s ( T1
and T2) ( P< 0.05) .

Fig. 1. Blend of algae and yeast have show n t he highest grow t h rat e of rot ifers.
Different let t ers ( a, b) show t he st atistically significant difference ( P< 0.05) .

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Rot ifers t hat fed w it h yeast ( T2) developed w ell at t he beginning but w it h increasing of
rot ifers biom ass environm ent w as pollut ed and aft er period of t im e m ass m ort alit y
observed. Overall, in t his case ( T2) t he biom ass product ion w as low . The rot ifers t hat fed
w it h algae ( T1) had sam e populat ion increasing and t here w as no significant difference
bet w een use of yeast and algae ( P> 0.05) . The best grow t h rat e w as relat ed t o cont rol
t reat m ent ( C) t hat feed w it h blend of algae and bakery yeast . The low est grow t h rat e
w as observed in T1 and T2 t reat m ent s t hat fed j ust w it h algae and bakery yeast
separat ely.
Kinds and com binat ions of m icro algae and bakery yeast have nut rit ional m at t ers
t hat cause im provem ent of rot ifer grow t h rat e and survival rat e. This st udy show ed t hat
a different diet w hich has different nut rit ional price has different effect on grow t h and
survival rat e. Micro algae are know n for t heir excellent nut rit ional propert ies ( Hat t on &
Wilson 2007) and use of m icro algae such as Chlorella, Nannochloropsis and Chaet ocerus
im prove t he PUFA levels in anim al diet s ( Lavens & Sorgeloos 1986) . Variabilit y and
com plexit y of live food is essent ial for anim als grow t h rat e and survival. I n a sim ilar
st udy, Dehghan et al ( 2011) report ed t hat grow t h rat e of Art em ia part henogenet ica
w hich fed w it h com plex diet s dem onst rat ed bet t er result s com pared t o t hose fed w it h
sim ple diet s ( see also Farahi et al 2010 for grow t h rat e and survival of angelfish larvae) .

Con clu sion . The best rot ifer grow t h rat e w as observed in cont rol t reat m ent t hat feed
w it h blend of algae and bakery yeast . The low est grow t h rat e w as observed in
experim ent al t reat m ent s t hat fed j ust w it h algae and bakery yeast separat ely. Our st udy
show s t hat different diet s have serious effect s on survival rat e and grow t h rat e of rot ifers
such as Brachionus plicat ilis.

Re fe r e n ce s

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Received: 09 June 2011. Accept ed: 15 July 2011. Published online: 20 August 2011.
Aut hor :
Javad Sahandi, Gonbad Univer sit y, Depar t m ent of Nat ur al Resour ces, I r an, Gonbad; Post al code: 4971857765;
e- m ail: sahandij avad@gm ail.com
Hoj at ollah Jafar yan, Gonbad Univer sit y, Depar t m ent of Nat ur al Resour ces, I r an, Gonbad; Post al code:
4971857765, e- m ail: hoj at .j afar yan@gm ail.com
How t o cit e t his ar t icle:
Sahandi J., Jafar yan H., 2011 Rot ifer ( Br achionus plicat ilis) cultur e in bat ch syst em wit h suspension of algae
( Nannochlor opsis oculat a) and baker y yeast ( Sacchar om yces cer evisiae) . AACL Bioflux 4 ( 4) : 526- 529.

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